High End Earbuds Review -updated-

Do earbuds still have a place in a world dominated with in-ears? Most folks look at earbuds as something that you get with a brand new Ipod and nothing more. And yet there is a small group of people that continue be faithful earbuds user, keeping track of every new development on high end earbuds. To them, there is something that you get with an earbud that you don’t get with an IEM. I think that any gear having with a considerable following is worth investigating, and so I set out to do this article.

When talking earbuds, the number one name that comes to mind is Yuin. Indeed, this Chinese company has single handedly created and sustained the demand for audiophile earbuds. I can confidently say that if not for Yuin, no audio conscious people would even be interested of listening to a pair of earbuds anymore. The Yuin brand and their PK line is so legendary, that I’ve yet to hear a single bad remark about their PK line, let alone their flagship PK-1 earbud. Now that’s a pretty amazing feat in a landscape where even $1,000 flagships are not free from faults. I don’t know if the PK-1 is really that good, or if people are too afraid to challenge the status quo on the PK-1, but I really have yet to hear one bad thing about the Yuin PK-1.

The fact is that the PK-1 has such a legendary aura around it that when another company releases a high end earbud, we can’t help but wonder how it’ll compare to the grand PK-1. So, here I am, with a Yuin PK-1, Blox TM-5, and the Sennheiser MX980, courtesy of my buddy Sem. And while this is far from the “ultimate” earbuds review (there’s probably a good number of other buds that I miss), I figure that the three is a good enough number for a solid comparison.

And now let’s move on to the review.

EARBUDS IN GENERALWearing an earbud is like a two sided coin. We all know what it’s like to wear an earbud, thanks to the ubiquitous Ibuds. They are quite comfortable, they leak sound, they block no outside noise, they constantly fall out of your ear, all that bad stuff. What’s the other side of the coin? Well, for one, their leaky sound is probably what’s responsible for the refreshingly open sound. As open backed headphones are universally agreed to provide a superior feel over closed ones, the open sound of earbuds is like taking a fresh dose of air after listening to closed IEMs and tightly sealed customs. What’s more, they make pretty good office set ups. Unlike an IEM, they don’t isolate you socially, as you can take them off the ears as easily as putting them back on. Finally, I find that all three earbuds somehow have a sound that’s unfatiguing for long term listening sessions.

One of the “art” of listening to an earbud is how to get a good placement and positioning on your ears. A small tweak in the direction of the drivers will give you more bass, while turning it to the other way will give you a leaner sound. So this is going to be one big source of variable in people’s impressions of the sonics. For this review, I simply try to adjust the earbuds until I get the “best” sound on my ears.

BUILD QUALITYPlease don’t expect much from the Yuin and the Blox earbuds. The Blox is a little bit nicer than the Yuin, but both of them really looks like a generic earbud and far from the pricetag that they command. The black plastic looks drab, and the slightly stiff cable is reported to deteriorate after a term of prolonged use. The Sennheiser MX980 is the only one in this shootout that looks proper for a $200 earbuds, and with a good cable and a fancy metal look volume control to match.

YUIN PK-1 & SENNHEISER MX980Listening to the Yuin and the MX980, I felt that the two seem to be build from the same basics. There is a small difference in terms of tonal balance, where the Yuin is more colored in the midrange and midbass and with a more relaxed treble and low bass, and the MX980 sounds like a more linear version of the same driver. The two are not alike, but they’re quite similar in their voicing. It’s like taking the same headphone and plugging them into two different amplifiers: one to a linear sounding solid state, the other to a more mellow and lush vacuum tube amp.

After more listening, the general impression that sticks in my head is this:

The Yuin takes the tonality of an analog, vacuum tube system. It’s treble relaxed and soft, the mids sweet and lush, good punch on the midbass, and not so much low bass.

The MX980 takes a more straightforward, solid state personality. A more sparkly treble, better clarity on the midrange, and a more linear bass to the low frequencies.

In this case, there really isn’t a case of “better” as the two earbuds will be better for one music and less so for another. The Yuin has a permanent warmth and sweetness embedded in the sound, and it’ll give that coloration regardless of the recording. In this case, the Sennheiser clearly departs from its usual mellow and warm sound that we often associate the brand with. It has a more articulate sound, more linear presentation, and although it would sound dryer in comparison to the Yuin, it really is not a dry headphone and is quite musical by itself.

The Sennheiser is more flexible to follow changes in the recording, as it does not imparts a strong coloration on the recording. When you play a warm recording like Jazz in the Pawnshop, it will sound warm, and when you play another recording like Radiohead, it will also represent a brighter and more up-to-pace presentation. In that sense, I can recommend the Sennheiser as it has a better ability to keep pace to a wider range of music, where the Yuin is more reserved for slower and mellower vocal, jazz, and audiophile stuff. And yet, looking from the other guy’s perspective, the warm and analog sound of the Yuin does have a very strong appeal on its own. The voicing is slightly mellower and more romantic, and it really hits the right pleasure spots in the brain with the right music. I guess we’re back with something like a solid state versus vacuum tube, or analog versus digital debate.

On one hand, I’m leaning more with the Yuin as I’m just constantly drawn to its mids and smoother treble more than the MX980’s more articulate, linear sound. But on the other side, on if I’m playing rock recordings, the lack of low bass in the Yuin is a big downside that constantly left me wanting for a more weighty sound. On the other hand, the MX980 doesn’t quite have the sweeter sound of the Yuin, but in a way is more complete the sound presentation. While you can’t expect an earth shattering lows with earbuds, the MX980 has more weight down in the bass than the Yuin, and it works much better with the majority of mainstream recordings than the Yuin does. But as people prefer one type of an amplifier over the other, so is the choice between the Yuin and the MX980 would be down to mostly music preference.

If I can pick on both earphones, and I can definitely do that, these are the areas that I would pick on:

The Sennheiser’s treble, while more sparkly, lacks the smoothness and finesse of the Yuin’s. Treble decay is very natural without being overly long on the Yuin, where the Sennheiser has a more abrupt decay.

The Yuin’s midrange, while very warm and sweet and full, lacks the articulation of the Senn’s.

The Sennheiser’s soundstage is slightly wider, but the Yuin has a far better depth, making for a significantly larger soundstage feel overall.

The Yuin comes with a "special" holed buds.

Munkong Gadget wrote about the MX980: "BMW in my ears". Indeed it is. Definitely the nicest design of the three.

Fancy volume control is very nice for a $200 earbuds.

The phone jack is made of metal, it works either straight or angled.

The phone jack in angled.

BLOX TM-5The Blox TM-5 is tuned and is voiced quite different than the two earphones that I won’t make the mistake of mixing it with the Yuin/Senn. The voicing is darker on the TM-5, while it also improves the bass performance tremendously in comparison to the Yuin and the Senn. In fact one of the weak points of earbuds are bass performance, as you can never get a good seal with the canals. The TM-5, however, is the best in terms of bass among the three. The bass is very good for an earbud: controlled, good articulation, good low bass with good slam. The articulation of the bass and the thump factor really draws you back to the bass, over and over again. Plugged in to a good desktop amp like the Grace, the TM-5 sounds like something Audez’e might’ve come up with if they decide to build an earbud.

The Blox doesn’t stop with just the bass. Soundstage performance is quite ahead of the Yuin and even more of the Sennheiser. Here, the Blox shows itself to be in a different league compared to the other two. What can I say, even bigger soundstage, a darker background, a deeper depth. It’s amazing to see how Blox has pushed the limits of soundstage reproduction within its tiny, generic black housing.

The thing with the Blox is that it has a mini LCD-2 like tonal balance that makes it the best earbud to rock with rock music, progressive, electronic, and anything fast-paced and needing a good beat. The Blox definitely have the best PRaT of the three, something that matches quite well with my music. The Yuin is too light on the bass to play these musics, and while the Sennheiser is better, the Blox is the best of them all. The dark signature is perfect for the hot treble recordings, and the bass is there to complete the score.

Of course, every earbuds have their own weaknesses, and in the case of the Blox, the midrange and the treble is less impressive than the Yuin or the Sennheiser. The dark presentation is not very ideal for low level listening with acoustic tracks, as it becomes hard to hear the detail on the instruments. At normal listening volumes, however, it’s evident than the detail is there, and in no less quantity than the other two buds.

Likewise the Blox. I'm also seeing glue marks on the surface, and I don't know what the deal is with that.

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122 Comments

Mike

Right after I published this article, I received a package containing the Bang & Olufsen A8 and the legendary Crossroads HR-1 earbuds from Anton. Looks like an update is due sometimes in the future to include the two additional buds. 😀

CccC

I reckon you'd find the B&O A8 to have an extremely wide soundstage for a pair of earbuds, though may be slightly shy on bass compared to the Yuin series. The Crossroad HR-1, however…. *chuckles* I guess it'd be up to you to see if you'd like it though. Personally I find it to have a slight tinge of strange warmth throughout the entire spectrum.

Mike

Thanks for the heads up! I need to spend sometime with both earbuds, as they're totally new to me. But it's all good since I can be doing that while working on the portable amplifier shootout, and the Yulong U100 and Musiland 02 reviews. 🙂

CccC

Haha.. I reckon you know who I am ya Mike. Pardon me for my email address with its vulgar wordings though.

Mike, how would you rate the comfort for the earbuds though? From my experience, the generic casings used for the Blox TM5 and Yuins in fact do contribute to a better comfort, generally more acceptable for the masses. I am not too sure about the MX980 though, I've heard some complaints about the earpiece being too big and heavy. How would your experience with them reflect this aspect though? 🙂

The MX980 do look good though. Smexy. Haha. I was once tempted to grab it, but honestly, the volume control and perceived ergonomics turned me off a little. I have the MX580 however, nice pair of cheap earbuds, mids are quite forward and sweet, making it very emotional for vocal-centric songs, but other than that, the Yuin PK3 still reigns… In my humble opinion. 🙂

Mike

No dude, I actually don't know how you are, and I can't remember any email resembling what you said. o.0

Yes, the TM5 and the PK1 are more comfortable, but on my rather large ears, the MX980 holds better. It's also heavier, but I don't think I have any problems with it. I think the weight of the rod is probably pulling down on the housing in such a way that makes it sit better on the ears than the PK1 and the TM5.

CccC

Oh, haha, I'm C who had a short conversation about earbuds with you over at headfonia p2 before you published the review, Mike. 🙂

By the way, I realise we can rate our own comments in the forums. *chuckles*

I should really try out the MX980 one day.. Sadly, I can't get to audit them anywhere in my country, so most probably I might need to order it to try it out. I still find the design abit of a turn off on comfort for me though (I'm a puny asian with no eyes and small ears, hahaha), but I shall reserve further comments until I have them on my ears. 🙂

CccC

Mike

Mike

Lol.. Yes I know you. How can I forget? 😀

Interesting that you decided to take on the MX980 and not the Blox. I don't know, but I have a feeling that people who're into Yuins are probably not going to be impressed at the Senn. The different character of the two buds tell me they're targeted for different type of music.

CccC

Oh, honestly I am not too decided yet. Either the ZePhone NB01 (they say it uses the same driver as the PK1, but different cable and plug, they also have an upgraded version of the NB01 as well which has different cables than the stock NB01), Sennheiser MX980 or wait for the Blox TM5 I reckon. Or a Yuin OK1. Haha. I guess I'll just sit down and enjoy my Yuin PK1 first.. Since I can't seem to decide on which to go for, as honestly, I am expecting my next earbud purchase to be better than the PK1 instead of a sidestep to it.

Decisions decisions, we rant when we don't have money, and we rant when we are deciding on how to spend money. Oh the irony! 😛

Mike

Mike

Been spending some time with the HR-1, and my impression is that the HR-1 is an even warmer version of the PK1. It's also less bright and has better mids and bass body than the PK1. I can see how some people would prefer the HR-1 than the PK1. The two has an identical housing though! It's like Jaben ordered it from the same OEM company, painted the HR-1 gloss black while the PK1 is matt black.

CccC

Hmm.. I find that excessive warmth may sound weird sometimes, probably that's why I mentioned it has that tinge of warmth which made me shy away from it. Doesn't seem to "fit in" right. Haha. But hey, I have to say, the Crossroad HR2 and HR1 do look great, with braided cables and that special coating (said to be some sort of UV coating) which helps avoid scratches on the earbud's body themselves.

Jelle

CccC

I've tried the Atomic Floyd AirJax before. Honestly, not very impressed with it for the price. Don't get me wrong though, it does sound good, however abit too costly for what it delivers. 🙂 Its sound signature reminds me best of the likes of Philips, made quite bright to seemingly bring out its details, bass extension which isn't too deep or wide, vocals just a slight bit thin. Overall does sound pretty nice with mainstream songs, but for the price.. I'd hesitate over buying it.

Mike

CccC

"Overall, the TwistJax is a good product from a fairly young company. K.K.Ko, the Accoustic Engineer, has close to 15 years of headphone engineering experience in Philips and Fujikon "

Hey!!! No wonder when I tried the AirJax the sound signature reminded me of Philips headphones! Seriously, I started off with the Philips SHP2700 and SHP8900 when I was much younger. Honest, I didn't know the company is in any way affiliated with Philips and Fujikon. *laughs*

Mike

CccC

*giggles* I.. Like many people online (hopefully!), have multiple email IDs to keep track of things. Haha. However, you could always fire me a mail there as I do check things up periodically. I use another email for my Windows Live Messenger. 🙂

a_tumiwa

CccC

Whoops, sorry, I didn't try the CM700.. Yet. *chuckles* But I had a fairly decent discussion with an online buddy of mine over how the CM707 (a supposed replacement for the CM700). The soundstage, mids and highs of the CM707 are done pretty well, albeit with the soundstage being wider than deeper. Bass, however, is abit on the lean side. This goes very smilar with previous impressions of the CM700 as well.

I have either owned or heard (I don't have that much experience with earbuds too, sadly) the Yuin PK1/2/3, Atomic Floyd AirJax, Sennheiser MX580 and MX400, Crossroad HR1/2, Bang&Olufsen A8, Final Audio Piano Forte II, and I've discussed and talked about the ATH-CM707, Blox TM5, Sennheiser MX880/980, ZePhone NB01, Yuin OK1/2/3 and some other.

My top two is the Yuin PK3 and Yuin PK1. Nothing to slot in the 3rd at the moment, and I am looking around for one to outperform either the PK3 and PK1 in my ranks.

Yuin PK3 for its tremendous value for performance factor, not to mention is scales very well with amplification for something this small and cheap. Manages to push out INCREDIBLY deep and low bass for its size and price, far deeper than the PK2 (PK2 has bigger bass though), capable of going as low as the PK1 even. It's very much like an unrefined, mini version of the Yuin PK1. Yuin PK1 for an overall balanced sound with a hint of warmth to it, making it sweet for gentle acoustic songs and vocals as female vocals and Jpop stand for a huge part in my music collection. For me it's hard to point on the fault of the PK1, unless I am listening to rock or extremely fast paced songs where it'll start sounding fairly congested and messy.

One more thing I have to tell you about myself, I am a sucker for comfort. *chuckles* Up till now I've avoided the higher end series of the Sennheiser MX series (880 and 980) due to the presence of a volume control and their ergonomics, the volume control adding an extra bulk on the cable and the MX980 seems rather uncomfortable to me, but it won't stop me from trying them out before I decide if this stands true or not. I adored the generic case shell that Yuin used and hence they could stay for ages in my ears. Oh not to mention I actually sleep with my earbuds on (music helps me sleep :P), so I'd be rolling over on my side, where I would need earbuds that doesn't press too much against my ears, which explains why I don't use IEMs, or any earbuds with built on earhooks.

Well, so much about me, what would YOU wish your future pair of earbuds to do, a_tumiwa? 🙂 For starters, you may consider the Yuin PK3, far more balanced and acceptable to a wider range of listeners than the Yuin PK2. 🙂

kanon

Mike

Definitely. The soundstage is surprisingly very deep. I suppose you can count that as good technicalities, yes. Everytime I go back to the Blox after listening to the other earphones, I get blown away by the soundstage. It's not even close.

kanon

Mike

I really don\’t know. Driver quality, somehow? Also combined with housing design? I know that Sennheiser vastly improved the soundstage from HD555 to HD558 just by changing the housing. I\’m not talking just a more \”open\” sound improvement either. But from having no depth to a real good depth in the soundstage.

Really nice review Mike 😀 As a fan of ear bud I really enjoy reading this review I'm waiting for your high res wallpaper of mx980 😛 it look like a state of art for me 😛 Anyway do you have plan to review the one and only (as for now) dual driver ear bud ,koss kde250? and where did you get the blox ? I thought it is very rare, and only 1 person in our country have it .

CccC

Blox TM5 goes up for sales every once a while. 🙂 The previous one was about 2~3 weeks ago, but I was having exams, couldn't think well, so I sort of hesitated my purchase (for a good reason too! Things didn't go very smoothly financially for this month afterall).

I'm checking their site every once a while, hopefully it pops out some day soon. 🙂

Anonymous

Thanks!

I didn’t even know Koss makes a dual driver earbud. But if you read the short bit I wrote about single vs multi drivers, I have a feeling the Koss will have the same issue as the multi-driver IEMs as well.

Warren Peace

The Koss KDE250 isn’t technically an “earbud”, I call it an open earphone. But it sounds very, very good. It lags behind the Sennheiser MX985 in absolute clarity (but only just), and the fit is really fussy to keep it in the sweet spot where the best sound is. I haven’t heard the TM5, but don’t be fooled by its lowest frequency response being rated as 40hz: the Koss has far and away the best bass out of any open earphones I’ve ever heard. It will SLAM in the low end like only much larger headphones can!

I think of it as sharing a sound signature with the PortaPro, but greatly refined. It doesn’t lose entire frequencies like the PP, and it will give you far more detail and clarity.

mathu

Mike, how would you compare these high-end earbuds and ultra portables like V-Jays in terms of soundstage and overall SQ? It’s very hard these days to find an open headphones that remain truly portable and do not require additional amplification. I was looking for an improvement over my V-Jays in terms of bass and detail rendering and unfortunately had to move to closed cans from Shure. The sound quality is fine, with much better details and bass, but I’m lacking the airy sound and portability of the V-Jays and I’m wondering if these Senns or Blox could be considered as a solution for my problem.

Anonymous

That is a very good question.

I don’t think the ultra portables have the refinement, treble mid quality of the PK1, bass quality of the Blox, or the soundstage of the PK1 or the Blox. But given the larger driver size, they can produce more bass quantity very easily.

esanthosh

Anonymous

esanthosh

Really? That’s your answer? I expected something on the lines of “soon to be included” ;). Considering that earbud comparisons are such a rarity (not only at headfonia), I’d have ideally liked OK1 to be included. MX980 vs OK1 is something I looked forward to. May be in the future…

Anonymous

___2003

I own Yuin PK-1, OK1, Sennheiser MX980 and Blox TM5 2nd batch. I can say that the best are MX980 because they really sounds as big cans. TM5 bass is not as good as the one in the review. They are only more ‘bass biased’ than MX980 and PK-1 with deafult signature but if you plug an equalizer and crank up the bass only the MX980 really sound good.

Anonymous

After starting my headphone journey with IEMs and went through many dozens of them, now I’m going back to basic finding a sweet spot with the PK2! Earbuds seems to be the best compromise for my listening at school as the lack of noise isolation is now a plus… It was a nightmare trying to insert/reinsert the SHURE E500 with it’s triple flange! However… back at home the HE5 still reigns : )

I’m waiting impatiently for the revisions as I’m very very interested in the A8! I love the design and of course the brand’s heritage… I’ve always wanted to try one but was always put off by the rather high retail price… while buying second hand is out of option… so many AAAAAAAAAAA fakes!

Anonymous

CccC

Hey Mike, sorry for disappearing some time. Didn’t manage to comment and reply much. Had been busy with stuff, and have to prepare for Chinese New Year! Haha. Enjoying my HD650 + iBasso D6 (topkit with stock buffers) though. =D

But trust me, I’ll be checking on this site often through my iPod Touch, waiting for the updates on the HR1 and A8. 😉

Wishing all audiophile friends a prosperous new year ahead, and Happy Chinese New Year! 🙂

Anonymous

LOL… I’m such an idiot… missed reading the entire second page! Another ‘legendary’ earbud springs to mind… have you ever tried the AIWA D9? I tried it very very briefly (like 5 minutes) but the airiness of the sound still itch me to buy one every now and then.

Anonymous

CccC

I’ve used the PK1 without an amp, with an iPod Shuffle 4th Generation. 🙂 Mike also wrote a good deal about it in his review. It will still go up to a ear tearing volume, and the basic characteristic is there- sounds smooth, warm, generally balanced.

It’s just not as refined as how it would be as amped – more deep bass, better high extension, wider and deeper soundstage. 🙂

Anonymous

First I was ruling out the PK1 on the basis that I wouldn’t want to carry an amplifier around for portable use… but hmmm this is tempting. So hard to choose! Seems like I gotta do what I did with buying IEMs… just buy them all and sell out the one I don’t like hehehe.

CccC

Anonymous

markychas

just bought the Audio-technica ath-cm700ti from shopaudiotechnica.com. Paid too much, but what a sublime sound without the iem intrusion. Much better soundstage and very detailed compared to my previous purchase the AKG K319.

A_tumiwa

markychas

didnt want the weight of the new CM707’s extension cord. I hate in’line volume controls and extensions on something like that. I paid too much to ensure that I received the real deal. I hear that theres alot of fakes out there.

So, the A8’s result came out exactly as I feared… a bit disappointing really, I was sort of hoping it was worth a try, but your review has quenched the thirst for good… well, at least until that too-good-to-be-true deal pops up every now and then. Ah, lust, greed, desire… whatever you call them, they never really goes away do they!

CccC

Too fatigued to reply your updated review properly Mike.. But nice to see it up now! Perhaps I should retry the HR-2 with a properly amped setup and see how it goes. 🙂 Definitely keeping my eye on the Blox TM5 though. 😉

kanon

Anonymous

Yes, I don’t think you can make that generalization with IEMs. Like what I’ve written on the article, the impression of a full size headphone is partly from the earbuds’ open sound presentation — where IEMs are more closed in due to the seal. However, technicalities wise, the BA multi drivers are currently the king of the game. That doesn’t mean that the multi driver BA is the best way to go, as there are other parameters to judge audio performance by.

On our local forum we are discussing the merits of multi driver BA vs single driver DD, and each have their own followers depending on preferences and music choices.

Anonymous

CccC

Mike! 🙂

Do you think there’s any IEMs that may best the Yuin PK1 in terms of overall sound quality? I know it might be hard to beat, especially with how spacious and airy earbuds sound, but I’d love to give it a shot, especially that we can hardly find any other earbuds better than the Yuin PK1. And I don’t really intend to buy a sidestep earbud this time (another earbud with a different sonic signature).

Was considering customs, such as the ACS T1.. But that’d be of last resort. Will definitely prefer universals so my fiancee can grab them off from me whenever she feels like it. Haha.

CccC

Hmmm.. When you say sounding nothing like the PK1, you meant by sonic characteristics? I haven’t been into IEMs long enough to learn about the differences in sound of (multiple) BA and dynamic drivers.

I guess IEMs not being able to sound as spacious/open as earbuds is simply unfortunate for me though. *chuckles*

CccC

Anonymous

Well, I probably need to write a good article about dynamics vs BA one day, but simply put, dynamics have their own characteristics, and so do BAs. In the world of speakers tuning multiple drivers to sound as coherent as a single driver is always a challenge, and some argues that you can never make a multiple driver sound like a single driver. Likewise the discussion with single driver dynamics (PK1, EX1000) vs multi driver BAs (dual drivers to JH16s.)

CccC

Oh. Indeed. I had a shot on the JH (with universal tips), TF10 and some others when I was over at a retail store at my place, they do sound good.. But for some reason I find them a little too technical sounding for my liking.. For some reason everything doesn’t sound coherent to me, it sounds like the highs are there because they sound be there, the lows are there because they should be there, but not because of a uniformity that creates something musically pleasant to my ears.

But it might just be me, Mike. And truth been told, I haven’t spend enough time on them yet regardless. Just a couple minutes and I’m done. Maybe I’m just took picky for my own good. 😛

Anonymous

Anonymous

Additionally, Though I agree that the earbuds have a more open sound (compared to say a JH16), I don’t think the open sound is an actual soundstage image. The actual soundstage image of a good IEM (again, the JH16) is much bigger, but the sound is very closed due to the seal.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Frequency balance speaking, I guess you can try either the Shure SE535 or the Westone 4. I think the tonality is similar, though ultimately they are NOT the same sound. Smooth treble, midrange centric, soft bass with medium punch.

CccC

Perhaps I’ll give them both a shot. 🙂 Either that or I could audit and see if I like the top tier Alessandro/Grado headphones.. Reason being, despite me loving my HD650, I can’t wear them for more than an hour due to my bad reading posture on my work desk, tires out my neck because of that, and I sweat rather too easily.

Anonymous

CccC

Oh, I adore the Grado/Alessandro cause generally they are light and can stay on my head for a long, long time. Well, that is, my experience with the MS-1. Not sure if the rest are as light. 😛

So let’s see.. I want something light that sounds good.. Hopefully better than the Yuin PK1. *giggles* I’ve did a brief checkup on your review of the Z1000, Mike. But the weight seems to be close to the HD650 at nearly 9.25ounces..

Still, the HD650 holds a very special place in my heart. It had been the headphone I had wanted since I was very, very young in this hobby. 🙂

Anonymous

techcommander

i bought yuin pk1 last week.i still cant believe how amazing these phones are.these are the first phones for me except full size headphones that i really feel 3d sound, amazing dept for an earpud. i was using westone 4 but sold it. it has great sound but too close sound almost in head sound .i was trying to find a big sound and soundstage similar to full size cans, yet portable (not hd25 style).i wasnt expecting that sound from these phones.

just buy one and review it if it has a better sound than pk1 then i will buy yours 🙂

Wow. If you added a comparison between the OK1 and the MX980 that would be great. I’ve been trying to decide between those for a while. My old 1990’s Sony earbuds are nice but I love earbuds and am in need of a real upgrade.

Those earbuds seem to have a similar soundsig going for them so it would be interesting to find out the differences between them.

Mike, i have been listening to the PK1 this whole week and i think the sound signature really suits me. I have HD650 and need an amp. What amp do you recommend if i want to have PK1 like sound? Or maybe i should get HE-500? Because if i am not mistaken, HE-500 paired with HM810 sounds like PK1 CMIIW.

Arten, The HD650 is quite different than the PK1, I don’t think amplifier choices will make it sound like a PK1. The HE-500 perhaps is closer in sound signature to the PK1. I would pair it with something like the Graham Slee Solo.

MHOE

I would like to thank you very much for an extremely helpful article. I want to confirm that Sennheiser MX-980 are really very neutral and provide a very good imaging, separation and soundstage width for the price (and considering earbuds’s inferior technical abilities to IEMs). I personally enhance transparency and depth using my StageDAC’s crossfeed circuit which works brilliantly. Pairing them with my Torpedo tube amplifier (with impedance switch), these are buttery-smooth but still very neutral.

Comfort is the factor that forced me to move from full-size headphones (HD800). I am considering IEMs as wel but I’ve had issue in the past with the fact that you have to push them into your ear canal. You definitely get a greater comfort and softer feeling with earbuds and that’s why I decided to purchase these.

For 140USD new, these are a great value if you appreciate earbuds and want to get much better soundstage and separation in comparison to typical cheap pairs.

aristidesfl

Sam

Hi, great article! I’m considering getting a pair of earbuds to compliment my Grado RS1i – specifically, I hope to kill two birds with one stone: something more portable and something which will work better with classical music (I’m thinking specifically small-scale choral works and string ensembles, neither of which respond well to the Grado’s treble emphasis).

Do you have any thoughts as to which of these may be most suitable? Or any other related thoughts?

I’m also considering IEMs, but aside from not being so keen on complete isolation I also imagine I would have to spend significantly more to get a decently-balanced and open sound (I may of course be completely wrong).